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[17]: 399 If a body is in equilibrium, there is zero net force by definition (balanced forces may be present nevertheless). In contrast, the second law states that if there is an unbalanced force acting on an object it will result in the object's momentum changing over time. [14]
Equilibrant force. In mechanics, an equilibrant force is a force which brings a body into mechanical equilibrium. [1] According to Newton's second law, a body has zero acceleration when the vector sum of all the forces acting upon it is zero:
If the total external force is not zero, then the center of mass changes velocity as though it were a point body of mass . This follows from the fact that the internal forces within the collection, the forces that the objects exert upon each other, occur in balanced pairs by Newton's third law.
In mechanics, the net force is the sum of all the forces acting on an object. For example, if two forces are acting upon an object in opposite directions, and one force is greater than the other, the forces can be replaced with a single force that is the difference of the greater and smaller force. That force is the net force. [1]
Diagram of a newly formed planet in a state of hydrostatic equilibrium. In fluid mechanics, hydrostatic equilibrium (hydrostatic balance, hydrostasy) is the condition of a fluid or plastic solid at rest, which occurs when external forces, such as gravity, are balanced by a pressure-gradient force. [1]
It is contrasted with tension or traction, the application of balanced outward ("pulling") forces; and with shearing forces, directed so as to displace layers of the material parallel to each other. The compressive strength of materials and structures is an important engineering consideration.
The contact force acts only on the boundary of the object that is in contact with the ground. This ground reaction force is transferred into the body; the force of gravity on every part of the body is balanced by stress forces acting on that part. A "weightless" astronaut feels weightless due to the absence of these stress forces.
This support force is an 'equal and opposite' force; we know this not because of Newton's third law, but because the object remains at rest, so that the forces must be balanced. To this support force there is also a 'reaction': the object pulls down on the supporting cable, or pushes down on the supporting surface or liquid. In this case, there ...